Officials weigh $4 million in spending cuts

Layoffs, reduction in fire and police services on table

A NEW ROUND OF BUDGER CUTS

What: The city of Escondido faces a $10.5 million budget deficit this fiscal year, and has less than six months to right the ship before the fiscal year ends June 30. Otherwise, the city would exhaust its emergency reserves.

Proposed cuts: The City Council’s budget subcommittee suggested cutting $4 million in city expenses, and covering the rest of the gap with reserves. The cuts would affect all departments, including police and fire. In addition, subcommittee member Olga Diaz suggested outsourcing the library to the county, the East Valley Community Center to a social service agency, and some police duties, such as the SWAT team, to the Sheriff’s Department.

Implications: City Manager Clay Phillips said he would be unable to reach the $4 million target without layoffs.

Decision date: The full council is expected to vote on the suggested cuts March 3.

ESCONDIDO  Admitting they have a formidable task ahead of them, Escondido city officials this week began mapping out $4 million in spending cuts that could include layoffs and reductions in police and fire services.

The cuts, which would be implemented over the next few months, must be approved by the City Council.

They are being proposed to help close a budget gap, which has grown from $3.2 million on July 1, the beginning of this fiscal year, to $10.5 million. The general fund’s revenue has fallen from the projected $72.9 million at the beginning of the fiscal year to $66 million.

With less than six months to go before the fiscal year closes June 30, the city would have to disband entire departments to bridge the gap, city officials said during a council budget subcommittee meeting Tuesday.

Subcommittee members Dick Daniels and Olga Diaz didn’t want that kind of drastic action, and recommended cutting $4 million. The rest of the gap would be filled by dipping into the city’s dwindling emergency reserves.

Cuts would come from all departments, Daniels and Diaz said, from smaller offices, such as code enforcement, planning and engineering, to the big ones, including police and fire, which account for 66 percent of the general fund budget.

The subcommittee left it up to City Manager Clay Phillips to work out what to cut, and asked him to return with his proposal on Monday.

“There are things we are obligated to do, and there are things we would like to do,” Diaz said. “We should go back to basics and provide mandatory things.”

It could mean cutting funding to community agencies, including those that hold the July 4 fireworks, Christmas parade and the popular classic cars event, Cruisin’ Grand, Diaz and Daniels said.

The two suggested continued spending cuts into the coming fiscal years: $8 million in 2010-11 and $2 million in 2011-12.

To boost the city’s dwindling reserves, they suggested moving $3 million from redevelopment funds into the reserves.

In addition, Diaz proposed to:

• Outsource the library to the county; its hours have been severely cut already.

• Outsource the East Valley Community Center to a social service agency.